PHILADELPHIA — In the joyous aftermath of Seton Hall’s first win at Villanova since “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective” was a hit in movie theaters in 1994, Myles Powell reflected on the concussion he suffered at Rutgers nearly two months ago.
At that time, Seton Hall’s season appeared to be on the brink. The Pirates had lost two straight following a 20-point beatdown by their in-state rival and nobody knew how long Powell would miss in the concussion protocol. Even coach Kevin Willard wasn’t certain, and kept the media guessing.
Fast forward nearly two months and Seton Hall is as confident and complete as any team in the nation.
“Our confidence is through the roof right now,” Powell said after scoring 19 points despite foul trouble as No. 12 Seton Hall got a huge monkey off its back with a historic 70-64 win at Wells Fargo Center before a sellout crowd of 20,706. “Me getting that concussion was the best thing that happened to this team.”
As the calendar moves toward March Madness, check out these numbers on Seton Hall’s résumé:
- They have gone 12-1 since the Rutgers loss, their only defeat coming Saturday at home against Xavier. Before that they had won 10 straight.
- They have eight Quad-1 wins, 13 combined Quad-1 and Quad-2 wins.
- Their six Quad-1 road wins are the most in the nation.
- They have three Top 10-wins (No. 7 Maryland, at No. 5 Butler, at No. 10 Villanova) and two Top 10-road wins.
- They are currently projected as a 3 seed by the NCAA Division men’s basketball committee.
- They have a 3-game lead atop the Big East.
Villanova coach Jay Wright, who has won two NCAA championships in the last four years, said Seton Hall has the “it” factor of a team that could make a Final Four run.
“Definitely,” Wright said after his team lost its third straight and suffered back-to-back home losses for the first time in the “new” Big East.
“I definitely see the experience, the basketball IQ, the answer at each position. I really think they’re one of the best teams in the country.”
ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla had similar things to say after the Pirates' historic win.
“This is the third time I’ve seen Seton Hall live this year,” he told NJ Advance Media. “They are a Final Four-caliber team. They have experience, depth, toughness, a rim protector, scorers and, oh yeah, a National Player of the Year contender in Powell.”
During Powell’s absence in December, the other Pirates stepped up and helped right the ship. Guys like Quincy McKnight, Romaro Gill, Jared Rhoden and Tyrese Samuel were critical in the wins over Maryland and Prairie View A&M in December.
When Sandro Mamukelashvili, the team’s second-best player behind Powell, went down with a fractured right (non-shooting) wrist on Dec. 8 at Iowa State, Rhoden and Gill stepped up to play huge roles in the frontcourt.
Now the native of the Republic of Georgia is back and Seton Hall’s at full strength. The 6-foot-11 Mamukelashvili was a monster against Villanova, scoring 12 of his 17 points in the second half with eight rebounds.
Asked how hard it was to sit for 10 games across seven weeks, Mamukelashvili joked, “I feel like would be harder if they didn’t win so many games. But I came in with confidence because they were playing so confident. It was hard, of course, but my coaches and our trainers did a great job of keeping me busy, so it was an easy transition.”
Now he’s back and impressing everyone, beginning with Wright and Powell.
“That’s what makes them a great team,” Wright said of Seton Hall’s supporting cast. “It’s not just Myles Powell. And Myles Powell wouldn’t be getting the numbers he gets if the other team didn’t respect the other guys. We tried to shut him down a little bit, and when you do that other guys get loose.”
Wright also called McKnight “outstanding” after his 14-point, seven-rebound, four-assist day.
Said Powell of Mamu: “When you see one of your brothers shining, it feels good. That’s the best part about this group. It doesn’t matter who’s doing it or how it’s getting done, we just want to win. When you got a group of guys like that, you win.”
When Powell initially went down with the concussion, Maryland’s Mark Turgeon predicted it would give other players the chance to blossom ... and they have.
Seton Hall may be currently projected as a No. 3 seed in the South, but they would love to be in the East, where they could potentially move up and be a No. 2 seed and maybe play games at Madison Square Garden.
They now have a three-game lead atop the Big East and are closing in on the regular-season title the league’s coaches predicted they would win narrowly over Villanova.
“It’s great, that’s awesome,” Willard said. “Last year, we were fighting for our lives, now we’re being talked about as a 3 seed. That’s where this program is, that’s great.
“Our fans should be excited about that and these guys should be excited about that. But it’s Feb. 8, I mean Selection Sunday is not ... [until] March 15. We still have some great opportunities to beat some really good teams. And we’ve just got to keep our head down and stay focused and try to block out Twitter and Instagram and TikTok.
"I’m going to let these guys enjoy this win. I think Creighton’s as good as anybody in the conference, so we have to get ready for a team that’s much different, plays at a different pace and a different style.”
Adam Zagoria is a freelance reporter who covers Seton Hall and NJ college basketball for NJ Advance Media.